Chocolate Day 2021: Chef Suvir Saran shares exclusive chocolate recipes to make THIS day extra special

This is the week of romance. It’s the time to cherish your love once again with your partner and express your feelings for them. Today is the third day of Valentine’s week- Chocolate Day. On this day, lovers celebrate their relationship with chocolates. So, here are some tasty chocolate recipes from Chef Suvir Saran to make this day more special and memorable.   

Chocolate Day 2021: Tasty chocolate recipes:

Recipe of Chocolate-Nut Brittle:

For the chocolate

11 ounces/310g 60 to 72 percent cacao chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Scant 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Scant 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the brittle

1.2 pounds/907 g good quality salted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized chunks, plus separate 1 tablespoon/15 g butter at room temperature.

2.4 1/2 cups/615 g chopped and toasted nuts

3.1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

4.1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

5.3 cups/600 g sugar

6.1/3 cup/80 ml water

7.2 tablespoons/30 g light corn syrup

8.1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Method

1.Place the chopped chocolate, cardamom, ginger, mace, allspice, cloves, and cayenne pepper (if using) in a medium bowl. Bring 2 inches/5 cm of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to low, place the bowl with the chocolate and spices over the hot water and let it sit there, stir every 1 to 2 minutes until the chocolate is melted.

2.Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 11- x 17-inch/27.5- by 43-cm rimmed baking sheet with 1 tablespoon/15 g of softened butter. Fit the baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper, press it down to grease the underside and then turn the parchment over buttered-side up.

3.Place 3 cups/420 g of toasted nuts, the cardamom, and ginger in a large bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

4.Melt the remaining 2 pounds of butter/907 g in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the sugar, water, corn syrup, and lemon juice and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally to ensure that the sugar is completely melted. Once the mixture comes to a boil, stop stirring. Use a pastry brush and dab the sides of the pot with water if you see sugar crystallizing. Continue to cook the caramel until it reads 300 degrees F/149 degrees C on an instant-read thermometer, for 25 to 30 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally to ensure the caramel cooks evenly. (If the caramel starts to bubble and rise to the lip of the saucepan, reduce the heat.).

5.Turn off the heat, stir in the spiced nuts (be careful not to spatter the piping hot sugar) and immediately pour the mixture into the greased baking sheet. Set the pan aside for 4 minutes and then pour the melted chocolate over the brittle, using an offset spatula to spread the chocolate in an even layer.

6.Sprinkle the 1-1/2 cups/210 g of remaining nuts over the chocolate and set aside to cool completely. Either keep it at room temperature overnight or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

7.Break the brittle into irregularly sized pieces and store them in an airtight container or in a gallon-sized freezer bag for up to 2 to 3 months.

Recipe of Chocolate Hazelnut Torte:

For the cake

1-1/2 cups raw hazelnuts (or unsalted skinned hazelnuts)

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs, separated

For the glaze

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably between 80 and 85% cacao), finely chopped

1 stick unsalted butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup or honey

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Method:

1.Heat your oven at 350 degrees F/170 degrees C. Place the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake them until their skins are deep brown and the nuts smell toasted. Wrap the nuts in a kitchen towel and rub them together to remove their skins. (If using already skinned hazelnuts, then toast them for just 5 to 10 minutes, or until they smell nutty and set aside to cool completely.)

2.Grease an 8-inch cake pan with 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside.

3.Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a medium saucepan and then reduce the heat to low. Place the chocolate in a large bowl and set over the hot water in the saucepan (the bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water). Stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted. Set aside to slightly cool.

4.Grind 1 cup of hazelnuts in a food processor until they become very fine (be careful not to over-process, otherwise you’ll have hazelnut butter) and set aside. Sift the flour with the spices and salt and set aside. Coarsely chop the remaining hazelnuts and set aside.

5.Using a standing mixer or hand mixer, beat the butter with 1/2 cup of sugar until the mixture is fluffy and pale. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, and then beat in the chocolate and the ground hazelnuts.

6.In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until the egg whites regain their soft peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the whites into the chocolate mixture.

7.Fold in the sifted flour mixture, and then the remaining egg whites. Fold very gently until only a couple white streaks remain. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake yields to light pressure. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 15 minutes, run a paring knife around the pan edges and invert the cake onto the wire rack to cool completely.

8.While the cake cools, make the glaze. Bring 2 inches of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan and reduce the heat to low. Place the chocolate, butter, honey and cayenne pepper in a large bowl and set over the hot water in the saucepan (the bottom of the bowl shouldn’t touch the water). Stir occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and combined. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and cool the mixture slightly so the glaze isn’t too thin.

9.Pour the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing the glaze to run over the cake’s sides. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the chopped hazelnuts and let the glaze set up for 1 hour and serve.

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